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Marie Engen, who writes the Boomer and Echo blog with her son Robb, talks about people who feel they can’t invest in stocks when the markets are hot. They ask, “Is it too late to buy?” and keep their savings in bank deposits at low interest rates.

There is a common fear of investing at the top of the market – resulting in your staring at big losses right off the bat.

Of course, there’s always the possibility of investing right before a market downturn. But no one knows for sure when this will occur.

An acquaintance remarked last year that the market was overheating and a correction was surely due shortly. This was when the S&P/TSX Composite Index was around 12,800. Today (as of this writing), it sits at 15,550. In the meantime, he has stayed on the sidelines waiting.

Rather than fretting about when you should make your move, think instead about how long you’re planning to keep the money in the market.

As the pundits say, time in the market is better than timing the market. You may live a long time, so why dump your stocks when you turn 60 or 65?

You can hold more conservative investments in your retirement years. But you should keep some money in the stock market to preserve your purchasing power.

My investing class starts tonight. Close to 90 people have enrolled, a record number.

When I asked why they signed up, I heard a variety of reasons:

— I want to understand the lingo.
— I want to learn about ETFs (exchange-traded funds).
— I want to be my own financial adviser.
— I want to prepare for the “soap opera” visits with my adviser.
— I want to find out how to reinvest company dividends.
— I want to pay for courses outside Canada in five years.

All these reasons make sense, except maybe the last. Five years is too short a period for your stock market investments to flourish, especially when you come in after a long bull market.